Today, our daughter, Holly, finished nursing school. We are so proud of her and so thankful for this accomplishment. She has worked VERY hard.
She graduated from Ouachita Baptist University after 4 years with a degree in Biology. When she came to her Dad and told him that she felt like she wanted to go to nursing school after that...well, let's just say...it could've been bad.
BC Jim.
Because he is wise and thrifty and plans ahead and always knows what he's doing and is never wasteful with money or time. I'm not just saying that...it's really true.
Ouachita is a wonderful school. I went there, Holly went there and Clark is going there in the Fall. It's wonderful...but it's not cheap.
Jim has a good friend, and he kept saying that we should encourage Holly to go into nursing. After the first time we talked to her about it, and she quickly shut us down...I decided not to bring it up again. Jim, on the other hand, brought it up several more times over the course of a couple of years, and still got the same response.
He told me he was really feeling like that is what she should do. I told him to pray about it. I told him that if he prayed about it, and Holly ever had a change of heart...then we would all know it was of God, and not of us. So that's what he did.
And when Holly came to Jim, God prepared Jim's heart for her...just as He had prepared her heart to seek His will.
After Holly got married, she enrolled in school up in NWA and took some courses they were requiring her to take to enter her program.
*This is also known as the time when I nearly lost my mind because WHY DOESN'T EVERY NURSING PROGRAM IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENTS?
Because they totally should.
After a year, Aaron-the-son-in-law got a job in central Arkansas, and so they moved...and she applied to a nursing school in Little Rock. Jim and I have been so impressed with how hard she has worked to make her dream happen.
As of today, she is DONE. She passed all of her courses, and graduation is in a couple of weeks.
This whole thing is proof that miracles still happen, because if you knew her when she was little? Well, you'd remember a squeamish young girl who would "sympathy throw up" if someone around her got sick; who gagged if something looked or smelled bad, and who would turn white-as-a-sheet and nearly faint at the sight of blood...or needles.
WHO would've ever thought a girl like that would CHOOSE to be a nurse...and LOVE it?
GOD, that's Who.
And over the course of her life, He's taken great care to combine her gifts, talents and personality, along with her life-experiences...to make her heart tender toward those in need.
At an early age, we saw her "bent" by how she treated Joshua...and then her younger brothers. She is still their biggest protector, antagonizer, support and friend.
We are so proud of her! She's got a job in the NICU, and she's going to be a GREAT nurse!
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6
Wonderful!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes...it is such a huge relief! And she passed her state boards in August, and now she's employed as an RN and everything! :)
DeleteI'm still not caught up in reading your blog but you have been such an encouragement to our family in this area, without even knowing us. Annie is finishing her prerequisite classes before hopefully starting nursing school at UT Health Science Center in the fall. We know that her life will get more challenging when she starts the full nursing program. I've read your blog of Holly's progress and held on to every detail of Holly's schooling. It encouraged my heart more than you know to hear that she still had time for lunches with you, and so many other happy family memories. I know it was rough at times, but no one sounded miserable. Congratulations to Holly!
DeleteOH! I hope she loves it! It was very hard! We definitely tried to take advantage of any time she had off, but what impressed me the most was the discipline she put into studying. She made it a priority. Thankfully, her husband was a real trooper during the whole process...he is such a support to her! She is now working her "dream job" in the NICU. She loves, loves, LOVES it. In her hospital, they require all new NICU nurses to be with a preceptor for up to 6 months, depending on how they feel the person is handling everything. Holly has been there since the end of July/first of August, and this weekend will be her first time to be completely by herself (w/o a preceptor) with the babies. She is excited and nervous! I am so thankful for how closely they watch and train the new nurses...that they don't just throw them in there with the tiniest babies and say, "good luck!" I hope your daughter loves it as much as Holly does!
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